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Juan Cena wrote:But even with good financial planning, you would have to deal with things like rising costs of living, tuition, higher taxes, etc.

Look, all I'm saying is what level of income that people have considered rich doesn't quite work with the reality of economics.

There's nowhere in the country where you can make $600k and not be financially secure for the rest of your life if you want to be. Commute an hour or two to work in a sensible car, buy a $300,000 house in the suburbs, you'll be absolutely fine.

Live in a multi-million dollar house, drive lexuses, then sure, you may have to deal with troubles "keeping up with the Joneses" but that's nothign compared to people who can't eat today by no choice of their own.

Juan Cena wrote:But even with good financial planning, you would have to deal with things like rising costs of living, tuition, higher taxes, etc.

Look, all I'm saying is what level of income that people have considered rich doesn't quite work with the reality of economics.

Dealing with those costs is a part of good financial planning. I'm already saving up for my kid's tuition, and I don't have any yet.

I think the real issue here is that people who make a significant amount of income expect to live a certain lifestyle, which in the current economic situation is economically unfeasible. If you want to pay your kid's tuition, for instance, that's fine. However, don't bitch about how much it costs when they can take out student loans or work their way through college.

Juan Cena wrote:But even with good financial planning, you would have to deal with things like rising costs of living, tuition, higher taxes, etc.

Look, all I'm saying is what level of income that people have considered rich doesn't quite work with the reality of economics.

Of course it doesn't. Everyone is going to have stress in their lives whether they're rich, wealthy, comfortable, well-off or just getting by. But when you know you'll always have a home and three squares a day, you can't really complain about how tough it is when we still have people in our own cities dying of starvation and exposure.

S.F. Jude Terror wrote:There's nowhere in the country where you can make $600k and not be financially secure for the rest of your life if you want to be. Commute an hour or two to work in a sensible car, buy a $300,000 house in the suburbs, you'll be absolutely fine.

Live in a multi-million dollar house, drive lexuses, then sure, you may have to deal with troubles "keeping up with the Joneses" but that's nothign compared to people who can't eat today by no choice of their own.

Using that theory, the guy who works as a manager at McDoanld's is "rich." You're looking at the concept of from the ground up.

"I have my heroes, but no one knows their names"- Sons of the Desert

Strict31 wrote:I'm not sure that combining the nigh-uncontrollable power of LOLtron with the Nacireman is a good idea. Some years from now, when mankind is on the verge of extinction, we'll be able to look back and remember this moment, and say, "DANG."

BlueStreak wrote:Dealing with those costs is a part of good financial planning. I'm already saving up for my kid's tuition, and I don't have any yet.

I think the real issue here is that people who make a significant amount of income expect to live a certain lifestyle, which in the current economic situation is economically unfeasible. If you want to pay your kid's tuition, for instance, that's fine. However, don't bitch about how much it costs when they can take out student loans or work their way through college.

Twenty years ago, that lifestyle at that level of income was probably feasible.

That's the problem. People have ideas of what is rich that are decades old, and not based on current economic realities.

"I have my heroes, but no one knows their names"- Sons of the Desert

Strict31 wrote:I'm not sure that combining the nigh-uncontrollable power of LOLtron with the Nacireman is a good idea. Some years from now, when mankind is on the verge of extinction, we'll be able to look back and remember this moment, and say, "DANG."

Strict31 wrote:I'm not sure that combining the nigh-uncontrollable power of LOLtron with the Nacireman is a good idea. Some years from now, when mankind is on the verge of extinction, we'll be able to look back and remember this moment, and say, "DANG."

Companies give wage increases but over time from say, the 1950s to today, it's hugely stagnant. A lot of that has to do with the massive increase in debt that's become prevalent in our society. Mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit cards... With the exception of credit cards, the other three are basically facts of life. Student loans in particular are pretty fucked up. We push this idea on kids for the first 18 years of their lives that they need to go to college, then schools, colleges, counsellors, and often parents convince their kids to take out loans they'll be paying off for 20 to 30 years. It's insane. 18 year olds aren't qualified or armed with the knowledge to make a decision like that. We basically churn out debt paying slaves for the banks, locked in from the moment they enter independence.

CountD wrote:I also agree it's debatable. I have no COL index or whatever to refer to...I'm just going by my pay and those around me. (and I always get yearly raises)

Cost of Living index.

Say your company opens an office in Walla Walla Washington, there's a matrix that's used to determine what the difference is in the cost of living in Walla Walla vs. Trenton N.J. and what you pay an employees that perform the same duties for parity.